FOURTH GRADE CURRICULUM OVERVIEW

AGENDAS Students are given an agenda at the beginning of the school year. This is where they will write down their homework assignments and any other upcoming tests or quizzes. Please make sure you check these nightly and sign them, so that we know you are aware of your child’s work and progress.

HOMEWORK Please check your child’s agenda for assignments. Students will be assigned a list of spelling words at the beginning of each week that they must study and be ready to test over by Friday. Math assignments will be given throughout the week as well. Other projects and writing compositions may be assigned throughout the year. Your child will have to complete any unfinished homework assignments during their recess time.

LANGUAGE ARTS Reading skills to be covered through different genres Comprehension vocabulary building phonetic skills research practice inferences generalizations compare and contrast (text to text) predictions making judgements

LANGUAGE ARTS CONTINUED  The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and electronic material. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.  “If you read about it, write about it. If you are writing about it, you should have read about it.” Lucy Calkins

LANGUAGE ARTS CONTINUED Writing: responding to literature, making predictions, completing stories, and creating their own stories (incorporating writing into science and S.S. this year as well.) Research: searching for specific information, summarizing, prewriting, drafting, editing, proofreading, and publishing Vocabulary: learning and using new words through prefixes/suffixes and Greek and Latin root words and context clues. Grammar: demonstrates understanding and application of rules of the English language

MATH Naming and Constructing Geometric Figures Using Numbers and Organizing Data Multiplication and Division Decimals and Their Uses Big Numbers, Estimation, and Computation Measures Weights and Angles Timed Basic Fact Tests – so important to know those facts! Multi-digit word problems

MATH CONTINUED Fractions and Their Uses Perimeter and Area Algebra Differentiation

SOCIAL STUDIES American Indians …Impact of the physical environment on the lifestyles of the different tribes. Exploration …Identifies areas explored; Reasons for exploration; Explorations of France, Spain, Portugal, and England; Impact of Spanish explorers on native population in Georgia. Colonial America and American Revolution… Compares and Contrasts early American colonial settlements in New England colonies, Middle colonies, and Southern colonies; Reasons leading up to the war; Famous individuals of that time; Georgia’s participation in the war.

SOCIAL STUDIES Constitution and Bill of Rights…. Major Ideas of the Declaration of Independence; Challenges to the new government; Addition of the Bill of Rights; War of 1812; Writing of the Star Spangled Banner. Westward Expansion and Industrial Revolution… Social and Economic impacts of technology; Movement of people; Daniel Boone and Wilderness Trail; Limited resources lead to specialization of regions in the US. Map Skills….Types of Maps, Map Keys, Regions in the United States, Using Globes, Scale and Direction, Grid Systems, and Measuring distance between two places

SCIENCE Earth Science: Stars and Star Patterns, Solar System, and Weather - data and forecasting Physical Science: Light, Sound, Force, Mass, and Motion, and Effects of gravity Life Science: Ecosystems, Food web / Food Chain, and Adaptations – survival/extinction

SCIENCE Habits of mind: Asks questions that lead to investigations, Conducts simple investigations, Uses tools for collecting data, Uses charts and graphs, Uses data to answer questions, Writes and uses instructions, Understands fairness, Justifies reasonable answers, Identifies patterns of change, Researches for information, Understands the importance of safety concerns.

CONTACT INFO Jennifer Sara Carter Tina Tracy Jennifer